A 40-year-old man has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for causing a deadly crash on U.S. 60 in Apache Junction last year. Joel Stephan Goble received the sentence for second-degree murder and an additional seven years of probation for his role in the October 5, 2024, collision that claimed the life of motorcyclist Darrel Evans.
Investigators said Goble had been drinking at several locations before getting behind the wheel of his truck. He then drove at speeds exceeding 100 mph along U.S. 60, east of Idaho Road. The crash occurred when Goble slammed into the back of Evans’s motorcycle, pinning both the rider and his bike to the truck’s grill.
Authorities said Goble continued driving for nearly a quarter mile, dragging Evans’s body as the motorcycle burst into flames. He eventually exited the freeway at Idaho Road, where an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper traveling in the opposite direction noticed the truck’s missing headlight and flames coming from beneath the vehicle.
Goble stopped at a Chevron gas station just north of the freeway, where surveillance footage showed him trying to remove Evans and the motorcycle from the front of his truck. When the trooper arrived and saw Goble drive away from the station, he followed and arrested him at a nearby RV park.
Several hours after the crash, Goble’s blood alcohol content was measured at .132, well above the legal limit. A Pinal County jury convicted him earlier this year of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a fatal collision. Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller condemned Goble’s actions in a statement following the sentencing.
“This was not an accident — this was a preventable tragedy fueled by reckless choices and repeated disregard for the law,” Miller said. “The defendant’s history of impaired driving, combined with his callous decision to flee while a man lay dying on the roadway, shows the very worst kind of danger to our community.”
Prosecutor Stephen Bridger echoed the sentiment, highlighting Goble’s record of previous DUI offenses. “This case highlights the importance of holding repeat DUI offenders accountable,” he said. “This defendant had multiple prior DUI convictions and even had warrants for his arrest stemming from yet another DUI just prior to this collision.”
Miller added that while no sentence can undo the loss, he hopes the verdict brings some measure of peace to Evans’s family. “The conviction delivers justice for the victim and his loved ones,” he said, “and it sends a clear message: Pinal County will not tolerate repeat offenders who endanger innocent lives.”